East Slide Rock Ridge News Release--08-28
Incident: East Slide Rock Ridge Wildland Fire
Released: 8/28/2008
EAST SLIDE ROCK RIDGE NEWS RELEASE-
(Elko, NV) - Firefighters made good progress in securing the containment lines on the northwest and northeast flanks of the East Slide Ridge Rock fire Wednesday. The fire is now 10% contained.
The fire burned actively in three different areas on Wednesday, with the greatest activity being to the east of Cougar Point. Late Wednesday afternoon, winds shifted back to a southwesterly flow and the fire made an eastward push just south of the Forest boundary from Cougar Point towards Pole Creek Road. The fire reached the road but did not cross it. A heavy airtanker dropped retardant on the fire in an effort to slow its forward momentum and several engines worked the fire along the road.
The fire burned into a large island of unburned fuel in the Cougar Creek area (south of the Pole Creek Guard Station) and put up smoke for most of the day. This type of activity is expected to continue as there are several large pockets of unburned fuel within the fire perimeter. All non-fire personnel will be pulling out of Pole Creek Spike Camp today. Active fire behavior was also seen on the southeast side and the west side near the Matterhorn.
The fire did not advance any further north towards Murphy Hot Springs.
Firefighters continued to build indirect dozer line along the eastern flank of the fire in anticipation of the fire trying to push eastward as the winds shift over the next couple of days.
Winds will return to a southwesterly flow on Friday along with increasingly warmer temperatures through the weekend.
Approximately 15 families attended last night's community meeting at the Three Creek School. Fire managers presented an update on the fire's location and efforts to contain the fire.
Engines and other resources will again remain in both the Murphy Hot Springs and Jarbidge areas to provide structure protection if necessary. Helicopters and air tankers will be available today, as needed, to assist ground resources with containment efforts.
The safety of firefighters and the public remains the top priority. An area closure established for public safety remains in effect. A description of the closure area and fire information may be found on the Humboldt-Toiyabe website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/htnf.
